


Common Ground

by frogfarm



Category: Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Annual Femslash Kinkmeme, Caves, Community: femslash_kink, F/F, Sparring, Turbolift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 16:30:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16916352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frogfarm/pseuds/frogfarm
Summary: Finding common ground may be necessary, but it's never easy.Indeterminate timeline setting; as far as Varia's characterization, this combines some elements of before- and after- her canon epiphany.Varia POV.





	Common Ground

**Author's Note:**

> For Femslash Kink Meme 2018. Requested: Eve/Varia, cave story; Eve/Varia, sexy sparring.

"There!"

Eve's finger is barely visible through the driving rain. Varia shields her eyes, trying to discern the mouth of the cave directly above. 

"Hold on," Eve snaps, once more the leader of legions. Already she's scrambling up the face of the cliff, surprisingly agile in her loose and flowing robe.

 _Of course she would know the terrain,_ Varia thinks. Gods' blood, Eve had been the one to suggest they take refuge here, trapped on the far side of the gully by a river swollen to the bursting point. Even now an occasional wave comes crashing against the side of the canyon, sending a spray of water up from below to threaten their already precarious footing. Varia wipes the sodden hair from her face and, not for the first time, quietly curses the gods, her entire tribe and their wayward horses to boot. As well as their perpetually absent Queen, and her barbarian bedwarmer; the very ones responsible for Eve being born in the first place, never mind everything the bitch has done since then. 

But an Amazon keeps her word. No matter the cost.

It seems an eternity until a rope appears from above, nearly slapping her in the face. Varia grabs on, secures herself and ascends as quickly as possible, given that she happens to be the one carrying all of their gear. Not that Eve

( _Livia_ , her mind always whispers)

carried much these days beyond the clothes on her back. Varia still doesn't know what to make of this newfound religion of peace, particularly given the history of the woman preaching its gospel. But right now, it's any port in a storm.

"No wood for a fire." Eve is moving their packs away from the cave opening, disappearing into the vague and gloomy interior. Her voice echoes out of the darkness. "Might be a few dry torches."

"I'm not going anywhere." Varia doesn't like the sound of her voice. It's an accurate reflection of how she feels, and she doesn't like that either. She casts about for something halfway neutral.

"How long has it been? Since you were here?"

A moment's pause. "Three years this spring."

Varia thinks back, and her eyebrows rise. "You stayed through that winter?"

"Most of it." A light scuffling, the sound of cloth being unwrapped. "There we go."

The spark thrown by the flint strike is blinding in the darkness. Varia blinks away phantom echoes, outlandish colors and geometries flaring and fading in her sight. By the time her eyes adjust the torch is lit, its flicker illuminating Eve's dripping body; the modest gown now rendered tantalizingly transparent, clinging to every curve and swell of her well-muscled form.

Varia shakes her head, chasing away errant stray thoughts. Eve is fixing the torch in a hole in the wall, kneeling to examine their packs.

"Did we lose anything?" Varia manages to not make it sound like interrogation.

Eve doesn't answer at first, pulling out a few layers of things and rummaging about inside. "Feels like it held."

"Good." One less reason to threaten someone to do a better job. "What about us?"

"You mean, how long can we hold out?" A sarcastic exhalation, as Eve's lip curls in a delicate grimace. "Depends on if we start eating each other."

Varia swallows the cough, at least enough to keep it from turning into a string of them. "And if the rain keeps up?"

"My men put in plenty of drainage holes." Eve clasps her arms in a tight hug, shivering as she peers out at the torrential downpour. "Whatever else happens, we won't drown."

"I still don't like it." A large part of the reason is her instinctive fear of confined places. Despite her general contempt for suicide, Varia will happily gut herself before she admits this to anyone, let alone the woman currently sharing her cave. "We could have made the rivertown by now."

"Not in broad daylight." Eve's crisp retort comes with no hesitation. "If I still led an army, I wouldn't order them to march through this."

"You and what army," Varia mutters, before she can stop herself. It's petty, and unbecoming of a leader, and at this particular moment as she's busy pulling waterlogged boots from blistering feet she honestly couldn't give half a pile of dung.

"Does it make you feel better?"

"Does what make me feel better?" Damn it, the bitch is already winning. Getting her to lose control.

"Trying to hurt me." Eve still isn't looking at her, sunk into a seated position against a perfectly smooth curved section of wall. Varia can picture her just like this, three years gone; fully armored, ready for battle.

"If I wanted to hurt you --" Varia breaks off, swallowing whatever comes next. Words have never been her world.

"You know the way." She tamps down the harshness in her tone, fighting for some measure of her own peace. "How long will it take the river to go down far enough? So we can get out of here?"

Eve's gaze goes unfocused for a split second. "At least two days."

"Two --" Varia splutters to a halt, working her jaw. When she speaks again, her voice is deathly quiet.

"Days?"

Eve returns her death stare with placid calm. "At least."

Varia chokes back a growl as she busies herself looking through their bags for the last batch of trail rations. The constant, chafing reminder that Queen Gabrielle and the Destroyer of Nations owe her, big time, should ease her mind at least to some extent.

It really doesn't.

  


* * *

  


Dawn comes early and clear, a promising start to the day. Still, that's only half the battle; any more rain will inevitably delay them further. Even without her unwanted companion to contend with, the prospect of leaving her Amazons alone is enough to give wings to her heels, set her feet ablaze as she races on winds of flame to be with her sisters once more. By midday Varia's ready to climb the walls, claw right through the rock of the roof above them to make her escape. For her part, Eve seems not to notice at all, spending most of her time in quiet contemplation. It's enough to drive a person to murder.

The sun is beginning to set when Eve stretches and rises from her watcher's post, pressing both hands to the small of her back with a wince. Varia's unwilling gaze is drawn to the brief glimpse of midriff, cut off before she can think to not find pleasure in the sight.

Eve glances over at her, with an air of apology. "I need to move."

"Who's stopping you?" Varia turns away before she can say more, pawing idly through their pile of goods in search of distraction. Her sword is still dry and secure, but she'd forgotten they had the matched pair of quarterstaffs. No wonder she had so much trouble climbing that damn cliff.

She hefts one of the staffs, relishing the feel of leather-wrapped wood in her grip. "How about a real workout?"

Eve doesn't have time to reply before Varia turns and tosses the staff. Nor does she blink as it finds her upraised hand, snapping still as though it were nailed into place.

"They say you've forgotten more than any of us have learned." Varia kicks the other staff into the air, catching it on the way down. She holds it at eye level, pointed directly at Eve's own. "Show me."

"Is this a test?" Eve holds her staff loose, in one hand, the back half of it tucked under her arm. "Part of my becoming an Amazon?"

"You could never be one of us." Varia's voice is cold as she swallows back rage. "The only reason you're even alive --"

"My mother." Something flashes in Eve's eyes, deep within. "I'm getting a little tired of hearing about my mother."

The resounding impact as their weapons meet sends tremors through her hands, all the way down her arms and into her chest. The pleasant, buzzing sensation almost makes Varia laugh out loud for the joy of it.

"Is that meant to impress me?" She sends a quick jab at Eve's face, the other woman's dodge and lightning counterattack turning into a feint before Varia can take advantage of her position. She retreats a step and plants her rear foot, a slow grin spreading across her face.

Eve's staff spins, suddenly a blur.

"If I wanted to impress you --"

The air roars, parted at terrifying speed. Varia's expecting something like this and only just manages to pull back as the staff screeches to a halt, its quivering end less than a finger's length from the tip of her nose. Eve wears a look of utmost tranquility, her topknotted hair barely out of place.

"Which I'm not here to do --"

Something rings against her forehead, hard enough to send her staggering back a step. Varia's eyes are blinking furiously as she struggles to fend off the barrage of blows that force her up against the wall of the cave, a hit to her belly sending her down to one knee, coughing for air.

"I guarantee --"

Pain explodes in her shoulder, a full force blow that lays her out flat on the ground, her own weapon falling from numb fingers. Shadows flash and flicker and now Eve is fully on top of her, staff pressed against tight Varia's throat, smelling of sweat and lilacs.

She leans down, wild-eyed, the breath of her words a kiss on Varia's lips.

"You'd be impressed."

Varia stares into those raging eyes. Eve's face is contorted with equal emotion, and something else a warrior knows all too well.

"Go on." Her voice is soft, unchallenging acceptance. 

Eve's eyes widen further in horrified realization. Varia grabs on tight to every limb within reach, refusing to relinquish her hold, spitting her words in a hiss of command.

"Do it!"

Eve sags in her grasp, breathing heavily, looking ill. Her arms, abruptly feeble and clumsy, give an ineffectual push as she tries to crawl off and away. Varia grabs the hair at the back of her head and pulls up, forcing the other woman to look her in the eye.

"You want this."

"Not like this." Eve's voice is broken, defeated. "And two women -- it is a sin."

Varia can't help but laugh, quiet and surprised. "As if you've never sinned before."

A shudder passes through Eve's body. It would be a tantalizing one but for the look on her face. 

"I kept a slavegirl. My first year on the field of battle." Her eyes stare unblinking into Varia's, her voice growing quieter. "Never again." 

Varia shuts her eyes against a cascade of images and emotions.

"What do you want?"

Eve's voice is soft, with only a hint of the sadness her words convey. 

"Pretend I am innocent."

**Author's Note:**

> I often enjoy seeing how many prompts I can combine in one story, though I understand it may not be everyone's cup of tea. I actually should apologize more for this having even less actual sex than the Buffy/Faith bodyswap, but what can you do when kink turns to emo? In this particular case, I played around with extending the final scene with sex, and kept coming to the conclusion that this was just where it wanted to end.


End file.
